Hackensack Judge Dismisses Drug Case

December 17, 2014

On March 3, 2013, three African American males were lawfully parked in the parking lot of a convenience store in Hackensack, New Jersey. The men were approached by police, detained, and searched without a warrant. The search yielded suspected marijuana.

One of the men charged retained Hackensack attorney Kevin G. Roe. Mr. Roe moved before the Superior Court to suppress the evidence obtained on the grounds of an illegal search and seizure. A hearing was held at which time police witnesses were cross-examined about their observations and actions on the night in question.

Attached is a recent decision filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, invalidating the warrantless detention and search of the three men. Citing the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the court held that the police did not have any reasonable articulable suspicion or probable cause to detain the citizens and did not have a right to search their persons or vehicle.